Effective Date: October 10, 2026
Pinal Post LLC (“we,” “us,” or “our”) operates PinalPost.com (the “Website”). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your personal information when you visit our Website or use our services.
By using the Website, you consent to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with this policy, please do not use the Website.
1. Information We Collect
1.1 Information You Provide
We collect information you voluntarily provide, including:
- Comments: When you leave a comment, we collect your name, email address, website (optional), and the content of your comment. We also collect your IP address and browser user agent for spam detection.
- Email Subscriptions: When you subscribe to our newsletter or alerts, we collect your email address and any preferences you provide.
- Donations: When you make a donation through the Website, we collect your name, email address, billing address, and donation amount. Payment card information (such as credit or debit card number, expiration date, and CVV) is transmitted directly to and processed by our third-party payment processor, Stripe, and is not stored on our servers. Donor information, excluding payment card details, may be stored in our internal subscriber management system for record-keeping, tax documentation, and communication purposes.
- Event Submissions: When you submit an event to our calendar, we collect the event details and your contact information.
- Contact Forms: When you contact us, we collect your name, email address, and message content.
- Media Uploads: If you upload images to the Website (such as with comments or event submissions), you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS). Visitors to the Website may be able to download and extract location data from images.
- User Accounts: If you register for an account on our Website, we collect the information you provide in your user profile. You can view, edit, or request deletion of your personal information at any time by contacting us or accessing your account settings.
1.2 Information Collected Automatically
When you visit the Website, we automatically collect certain information, including:
- IP address
- Browser type and version
- Device type and operating system
- Pages visited and time spent on each page
- Referring website or source
- Approximate geographic location (derived from IP address)
- Date and time of visit
1.3 Cookies and Tracking Technologies
We use cookies (small text files stored on your device) and similar technologies to collect information and improve your experience. See Section 5 for details.
2. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect to:
- Publish and display your comments on articles
- Send newsletters, breaking news alerts, and other communications you’ve subscribed to
- Process and record donations
- Maintain donor records for accounting and tax documentation purposes
- Send donation confirmations and, where applicable, periodic updates to donors
- Display events you submit on our calendar
- Respond to your inquiries
- Analyze website traffic and usage patterns
- Improve our content and user experience
- Detect and prevent spam, fraud, and security threats
- Display relevant advertisements
- Comply with legal obligations
3. Analytics Services
We use analytics tools to understand how visitors use our Website:
3.1 Matomo Analytics
We use Matomo Analytics to collect usage data. Matomo is hosted on our web host’s infrastructure and managed by Pinal Post LLC; the host processes the data in the course of hosting the service. Data collected includes IP address, pages visited, device type, approximate location, and referring URLs.
Matomo data is used solely to improve our Website and is not used for advertising profiling or sold to third parties.
3.2 Google Analytics
We use Google Analytics, a service provided by Google LLC, to analyze website traffic. Google Analytics uses cookies to collect information about your use of the Website. Google processes this information in accordance with its own privacy practices, including processing in countries where it operates.
Google may use this information to evaluate your use of the Website, compile reports on website activity, and provide other services relating to website and internet usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required by law or where third parties process the information on Google’s behalf.
For more information about Google Analytics and how to opt out, visit: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout
4. Advertising
We display advertisements on the Website from various sources:
4.1 Google Advertising
We may use Google’s advertising network (such as AdSense) to display advertisements. Google and its partners may use cookies and similar technologies to serve ads based on your prior visits to our Website and other websites. This is known as interest-based or personalized advertising.
Google’s use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads based on your browsing history. You may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting: https://www.google.com/settings/ads
4.2 Direct Advertisers
We may display advertisements from sponsors and advertisers with whom we have direct relationships. These advertisements do not use behavioral tracking unless otherwise disclosed.
4.3 Advertising Cookies
Advertising partners may set cookies on your device to track ad performance and deliver targeted ads. See Section 5 for information on managing cookies.
5. Cookies
5.1 Types of Cookies We Use
| Cookie Type | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Essential | Enable core functionality (login, comments, donation forms) |
| Analytics | Track website usage via Matomo and Google Analytics |
| Advertising | Serve and measure ads via Google’s advertising network, if enabled |
| Preferences | Remember your settings and choices |
Cookie lifetimes vary depending on the service, your browser settings, and the purpose of the cookie.
5.2 WordPress Cookies
If you leave a comment, you may opt in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies for your convenience. These cookies last for one year.
If you log in, we set cookies to save your login information and display preferences. Login cookies last for two days (or two weeks if you select “Remember Me”). These cookies are removed when you log out.
5.3 Embedded Content
Articles may include embedded content (videos, maps, social media posts, etc.) from other websites. Embedded content from other websites behaves as if you visited that website directly. These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, and monitor your interaction with the embedded content.
Embedded services on the Website may include, but are not limited to:
- Google My Maps: Interactive maps embedded in articles may be provided through Google My Maps. When you view or interact with an embedded map, Google may collect data about your interaction in accordance with its own Privacy Policy.
- Interactive maps (Leaflet / qgis2web): Some maps are built with open-source mapping software and load background map tiles from third-party map-tile providers. If you type an address into a map’s search box, that address is sent to a third-party geocoding service to find the location. If you use a “locate me” feature, your browser will ask your permission before sharing your device location; we do not store it. Tile and geocoding providers may log your IP address and the addresses you search in accordance with their own privacy policies.
- YouTube and social media platforms: Video embeds and social media content may set cookies and collect data when loaded.
5.4 Managing Cookies
You can control cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to:
- View what cookies are stored and delete them individually
- Block third-party cookies
- Block cookies from specific sites
- Block all cookies
- Delete all cookies when you close the browser
Note that blocking or deleting cookies may affect Website functionality.
Opt-out links provided by our analytics and advertising vendors:
- Google Analytics: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout
- Google advertising: https://www.google.com/settings/ads
- Digital Advertising Alliance: https://optout.aboutads.info
- Network Advertising Initiative: https://optout.networkadvertising.org
5.5 Do Not Track
Some browsers offer a “Do Not Track” (DNT) setting that sends a signal to websites requesting that your browsing not be tracked. Our Website does not currently respond to DNT signals. You can limit tracking by blocking cookies in your browser or using the vendor opt-out links above.
6. Email Communications
6.1 Newsletter and Alerts
We use a self-hosted email management platform to manage email subscriptions. When you subscribe, we collect your email address and store it on servers managed by Pinal Post LLC. The providers that host, deliver, and back up our systems process subscriber data in the course of providing those services.
We may track email engagement metrics, including:
- Whether you opened an email
- Which links you clicked
- Delivery and bounce status
This data helps us improve our newsletter content and is not shared with third parties for marketing purposes.
6.2 Donor Communications
If you make a donation and provide your email address, your contact information may be added to our self-hosted subscriber management system. You may receive donation confirmations and periodic updates about PinalPost.com. You may opt out of future communications at any time using the methods described in Section 6.3.
6.3 Unsubscribing
You may unsubscribe at any time by:
- Clicking the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of any email
- Contacting us at [email protected]
We will process unsubscribe requests within 10 business days.
7. Data Sharing
We do not sell your personal information. We may share your information in the following circumstances:
7.1 Service Providers
We use third-party providers to operate the Website. They fall into these categories: web and analytics hosting; content delivery, caching, and website security; email delivery; backups; payment processing; analytics; advertising; map tiles and address geocoding for interactive maps; comment avatars; and spam filtering. Each provider processes information in the course of providing its service and under its own terms and privacy policy; some, such as payment processors and advertising and analytics services, also process information for their own purposes such as fraud prevention, legal compliance, and service improvement.
Providers whose own policies you may want to read:
- Stripe — Payment processing for donations. Stripe receives payment card information directly and processes it under its own Privacy Policy.
- Google — Analytics, advertising (if enabled), and embedded maps, under Google’s Privacy Policy.
- Gravatar (Automattic) — When you leave a comment, a hash—a coded identifier derived from your email address—may be sent to Gravatar to check for a profile image, whether or not you have a Gravatar account, under Automattic’s privacy policy.
Our form and subscriber management tools are self-hosted and store data on our own servers. We do not share that data with third-party marketing services.
7.2 Legal Requirements
We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or government request, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.
7.3 Business Transfers
If Pinal Post LLC is acquired or merged with another company, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction.
7.4 With Your Consent
We may share your information with third parties when you give us explicit consent to do so.
7.5 Password Resets
If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email sent to you.
8. Data Retention
We keep records for as long as they are useful to our journalism and operations. Published content, including comments and event listings, is part of our archive and is retained indefinitely. Analytics data and server logs, which contain IP addresses and other technical information, are retained indefinitely. Unpublished event-submission records and the submitter’s contact information are retained unless deleted on request. Donation records are kept for at least seven years for accounting and tax purposes.
If you unsubscribe, we stop sending and keep your contact record marked as unsubscribed so we do not send you further subscription emails. You may ask us to delete your contact details, your account, or your event-submission contact information under Section 10. Copies of deleted data may remain in routine backups until those backups are deleted or overwritten, and we may retain information where required for legal, security, or administrative purposes.
9. Data Security
We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information, including:
- HTTPS encryption for data in transit
- Secure hosting infrastructure
- Limited access to personal data
- Regular security updates
- Payment card data transmitted directly to Stripe via encrypted connection and not stored on our servers
However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of your data.
10. Your Rights
You have the following rights regarding your personal information:
- Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
- Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
- Deletion: Request deletion of your personal data (subject to legal obligations)
- Data Portability: Request an export of your data in a portable format
- Opt-Out: Unsubscribe from marketing emails or opt out of certain tracking
We offer these options to all users, whether or not a particular privacy law requires us to. To exercise them, contact us at [email protected]. We may ask you to verify your identity before disclosing, exporting, or deleting records. We will respond within a reasonable time, generally within 30 days.
Requests concerning subscriber, account, or transaction records are handled separately from requests concerning published journalism and public archives. Requests involving published content, including comments and event listings that have been published, are reviewed under applicable law and our editorial policies; submitting a privacy request does not automatically require removal of published material.
10.1 California Residents
Pinal Post LLC may not meet the thresholds that make a business subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). California residents may use the access, correction, deletion, and portability request process described in Section 10, which we offer to everyone. We do not sell personal information. Advertising partners may use cookies for interest-based advertising; you can adjust those preferences using the links in Section 5.4, which control personalization and are subject to each provider’s limitations. We will not discriminate against you for making a privacy request.
To submit a privacy request, contact us at [email protected].
10.2 International Visitors
Information is stored and processed in the United States and in other countries where our service providers operate. If you are visiting from outside the United States, please be aware that your information will be transferred to and processed in those locations. By using the Website, you consent to this transfer.
The Website serves Pinal County, Arizona, and does not target residents of the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom. If you are located there and wish to exercise access, correction, or deletion rights, contact us at [email protected] and we will consider your request under Section 10.
11. Children’s Privacy
The interactive features of the Website are not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Children under 13 may not use interactive features of the Website, including comments, email subscriptions, donations, or event submissions.
If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will delete that information promptly. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us at [email protected].
12. Third-Party Links
The Website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these websites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any website you visit.
13. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will update the Effective Date at the top of this policy whenever it changes. For material changes, we will also post a notice on the Website or send an email to registered users. Where applicable law requires your consent to a change in our practices, we will obtain it.
Your continued use of the Website after changes are made constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.
14. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your data rights, please contact us at:
Email: [email protected]
By using the Website, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.